


scared that [you won’t be waiting on the other side]

by 4beit



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fix It, a fix it more or less compliant with the events of canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27590404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4beit/pseuds/4beit
Summary: the grip is throttling and you’re stumbling backwards, away from the edge of the lake and dragging whatever is strangling you,the lady,[you know it’s the lady. you know that dani would never, not even now – dead or gone or whatever she might be. you know that she would never hurt you like this]away from the lake.
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 14
Kudos: 144





	scared that [you won’t be waiting on the other side]

“stop the cab.” you say, words tripping over themselves as soon as bly and all its haunted beauty comes in to view, sweeping the air from your lungs. your fingers are scrabbling against the lock, trying to pull it up, trying to open the car door even as the confused cabbie is saying 

“ma’am, we’re not there yet. ma’am please-” 

but you can not wait. 

not when you can see the shimmer of the setting sun against the lake, 

that fucking lake. 

you’d known, ten years ago that it was a fools dream to hope that you would never see the manor or the grounds or the lake, 

that fucking lake, 

again. and if you were being honest with yourself, ten years was more than you and dani had expected. not that you told dani, not that you ever told her how petrified you were that this day would come. or rather, that yesterday would come. a day where you had woken up to an empty bed, cold sheets and a note that stopped your heart. for all those years, you needed to be strong, to promise one day at a time because that was all dani could manage. 

one day, one morning, one minute at at time. 

but now, 

now your nightmare has become a reality because dani is in that lake, 

that fucking lake, 

and you’re here to get her back. 

you throw more bills than required at the cabbie, and given that you have no bags, have no luggage of any kind – you push the door open. you can hear the protests from the driver behind you, can hear him shouting and hollering that 

“it’s dangerous in there! don’t you know the stories?!” 

you do not have time to tell him that you lived the stories. that you’re living the story. that they’re not finished yet. not if you have anything to say about it. 

you jump the wooden fence, one hand curling around the unkempt ivy and moss, both grown thick along the familiar fence line. you land on soft earth and keep running. the woods, even in this growing dark and after all these years, are known to you. a decade may have passed since you walked them, tended to them, but the trails are still yours, still all that you knew for so long. 

before dani. 

before. 

fuck. 

you pass through the clearing where the moon flowers have long since stopped growing. you remember baring yourself for dani here, telling her everything and all the worst parts of yourself while watching the blossoms, radiant in the moonlight that filtered through the trees. you remember dani kissing you, kissing you after all that you had told her. in that moment, you were gone. she was forever, for you. 

and you’re here to get her back. 

or something. 

you’re here to face the lady of the lake and drag dani out of the water. 

even though you’re a day late. 

even though you know, 

fuck, you know, deep down in your heart of hearts, 

that you’re here to get a corpse. 

you’re here to drag dani out of the water because you refuse to leave her there. you refuse to let her be another thing, another someone, lost and consumed by bly. 

bly. 

the manor rises up as you break onto the manicured lawn at a full sprint. distantly you register the burning in your lungs and the aching in your legs. you register the faint wisps of pain from where brambles and thorns caught at you, leaving thin trails of blood along your hands, your neck, your face. 

you don’t care. 

you don’t care about any of it. 

how could you when you’re careening towards that fucking lake. 

only to come skidding to a halt at its muddy shores. 

for half a second you stand there, overwhelmed with memories of the night this all ended, the night it all began. where you plunged into the water, towards dani and flora. where you pulled them both into your arms and were just grateful they were alive, they were here, they were - 

dani had been terrified. 

it wasn’t until later, until after, that you fully understood why. 

now you stare at the water, with its calm, unbroken surface. there’s not a ripple, not a wave, not a sign of anything alive in the lake at all. 

this fucking lake. 

it hits you here and now, that dani is down there. that dani threw herself to the bottom of the lake to protect you. to make sure that you wouldn’t get hurt. 

yet here you are. 

tears sting at your eyes and you take a ragged gasp of air. 

“give her back.” you growl, looking at the lake even as it blurs from your tears “she’s not yours!” hell, she’s not yours either. neither you nor dani believe in mixing love and possessiveness 

but fuck, 

dani belongs up here with you. not, 

not down there. 

not in the murky darkness and eerie silence. 

you drop to your knees, another gasp for air pulled from your lung “she’s not yours.” you say, “you don’t get to do this to her!” 

and you’re shouting at a lake. 

you’re shouting at a body of water on the grounds of a manor that you worked at ten years ago. 

you’re shouting at a ghost, who may or may not be listening, to give dani,

the love of your life, 

the light of your life, 

to give her back. 

you fall silent, feeling silly, feeling more desperate than you know what to do with. you’ll go down there and get dani, you will, you’ve come all this way but - 

you have half a second of warning. 

there’s a flicker of movement, a shadow in the water that erupts through the surface before you have time to move or think or - 

there’s a hand at your throat. 

the grip is throttling and you’re stumbling backwards, away from the edge of the lake and dragging whatever is strangling you, 

the lady, 

[you know it’s the lady. you know that dani would never, not even now – dead or gone or whatever she might be. you know that she would never hurt you like this] 

away from the lake. 

she looms over you, the faceless lady of the lake. her touch is freezing, frozen and cold. water rolls along the sharp line her forearm, pooling at the swell of her wrist and dripping, drop by drop, along your neck, down your shirt. 

you shiver. 

you struggle for a breath and the difficulty, the stranglehold she has kickstarts your anger. 

as if she gets to kill you too. 

you slam a muddied hand down onto the bend of her elbow. you do it with all your force, all your might and hope, hope that’s it’s enough to break her grasp. 

it is, her hand slips from your neck but not without leaving deep scratches. scratches you don’t feel right now because you’re staggering backwards. the lady is standing there, faceless and soaking wet – but she is not dani. there is nothing about the figure before you that is of dani. 

and that means, 

oh that means, 

you look back to the lake. 

you look back to the lake and start running. you’re running, stumbling, ploughing into the water because if the lady of the lake is on the shore, that means dani, 

that means dani is - 

you’re swimming now, out of your depth and taking a deep breath with still burning lungs. you’re preparing to dive when, 

when – fuck something grabs your ankle. something human and hand-like skims along your ankle and despite everything you’ve been through and everything you’ve seen, 

you scream. 

you can’t help it. 

the fear echoes, earsplitting and water logged as something, 

someone, 

emerges from the depths of the lake. small waves crashing into you, blinding you temporarily as you kick to stay afloat, as you try and see what, who - 

“jamie?” 

and it’s dani’s voice you hear before you see her. it’s her voice and she sounds scared, exhausted, 

but alive. 

she sounds alive. 

you blink quickly, using one hand to wipe the water from your face and the other to reach for dani to grab her “i’m here.” you promise “i’m here. it’s me.” 

dani looks confused, she looks terrified. not that you can blame her. 

“what-” she starts, and then her gaze catches the lady of the lake. 

you know the moment dani sees her standing on the shore because she pales further than you thought was possible. she stiffens in the water and for a moment you’re sure she’s going to drown so you throw an arm across her chest, under her shoulders “it’s okay.” you say, even though right now it certainly is not okay. 

not yet. 

“what-” dani starts, but she breaks into a fit of coughing and you know, 

you know you need to get her out of the water. even if that means going back to the lady. 

you start swimming, half dragging dani out of the lake. you stare the lady down as you do so. you know she’s watching you, even with her eyeless, featureless face you know she understands what’s happening in her lake. 

her fucking lake. 

you drag dani to the shore and lay her out, kneeling next to her, over her. she’s coughing and blinking and confused, one hand coming to your jaw “jamie?” she murmurs “jamie, i don’t-” 

“i couldn’t just leave you there.” you tell her, “i couldn’t just -” 

you see the lady of the lake take a step. 

you feel dani’s grip on your arm tighten, vice-like. 

you’re no longer afraid. 

you turn, standing up and placing yourself between dani and the lady. you face off against this ghost that terrorised your friends, your family. 

“you’re not taking her.” you say, speaking to the lady of the lake, to viola “you’re not taking anyone, ever again.” it’s bold talk, but you don’t care. you’re not losing dani again “taking people, murdering them, it won’t fix you. it won’t fix anything. you can ruin people, you can make them kill or kill themselves for you. but it won’t fix anything! there’s nothing for you here,” you gesture to bly, to the countryside “but there’s everything here for her.”

you feel dani shift, half sitting and half leaning into your legs for support. you keep your eyes on the lady, you keep watching her, but you reach for dani. you run the tips of your fingers through her soaking wet hair, tucking it behind an ear. 

you’re not losing her again. 

“and,” your voice wavering “i think you know that. because dani’s alive. she’s been in that lake for a day. people don’t, people don’t survive like that under water. not without help. your help. you possessed her but you didn’t kill her. you didn’t drown her and you’ve drowned so, so many people. you let me drag dani out of the water.” you take a ragged breath, shivering violently but not caring. 

“jamie,” dani says, her voice thin and it’s the way she says your name, it’s the way she says your name that drags you away from the lady. 

“i’m here.” you promise, turning, kneeling. 

“i can’t,” dani’s voice wavers “i can’t stand on my own.” 

“i’ve got you.” you promise, easing an arm under her shoulders and guiding, helping dani to her feet. 

she’s soaked to the bone and just as cold. you grab your jacket, half covered in mud, and wrap it around her shoulders, letting dani lean in to you, against you. you’re still half a step in front of her, still keeping yourself between dani and the lady of the lake. 

“there’s nothing here for you.” you repeat, speaking to viola now “your daughter, she’s gone. she’s not here. i'm sorry, i am but,” you shake your head, trailing off. 

you don’t know what else to say. 

the lady of the lake does not move. 

she stands there, faceless and still. 

you feel dani trembling against you, you feel her hand curling around your arm. 

seconds of silence drag on and then,

then dani starts to speak “through great goodness of his mercy,” 

her voice is thready, her words unfamiliar to you in meaning although you recognise them as holy words. somewhere distant, a memory of a hospital bed, of a priest, of death and dying and murmured words to save a soul. 

“may god pardon thee, whatever sins thou hast committed by evil use of sight, hearing, smell, taste,” dani presses on and you’re left wondering when she took the time to memorise this prayer, for it must be a prayer. 

you remember, of course, the night dani woke up screaming. one of many nights but this was by far the worst. you remember the way you had pressed yourself against her, the way you had pressed her into the bed with one hand tracing along her cheek as you waited for her wild eyes to settle. you remember the way she had curled in to you, sobbing. you remember the long hour it took for her to calm, to start to speak about the lady of the lake and all that she had once been. 

viola. 

you stand in the silence once again as dani finishes “speech, touch or the ability to walk. may the lord pardon thee whatever sins or faults thou hast committed.” 

she finishes and silence reigns. 

the lady of the lake, head tilted as if listening intently to what was being said, is unmoving once again. 

“last rites.” dani murmurs, her voice thin and only meant for you.

the lady of the lake moves. 

she takes a step back and for a moment you’re sure she’s going to go back into the lake, 

that fucking lake. 

except she doesn’t. 

she takes one step back and stills. 

“jamie,” dani breathes, seeing it first, seeing the changes that are happening before your eyes – the lady of the lake featureless and terrifying, 

is changing. 

they are slow at first, noticeable in her face, 

a mouth, nose, cheekbones and eyes, 

eyes that are not cold and dark and inky black, 

no, 

eyes that see and blink and –

viola is standing before you. 

you find dani’s hand, gripping it tight, hopeful that maybe, 

maybe this is working. 

you feel her grip match yours in strength. you wonder if maybe, 

maybe - 

viola stares at you. 

she doesn’t blink, she doesn’t move. she just watches. 

watches you, shivering in the darkness as dani wears your coat around her shoulders. watches you holding dani’s hand and standing between dani and a ghost, a murderous ghost at that. watches you, watch her, unafraid. 

and then she’s getting brighter. 

brighter and brighter until you have to raise a hand to protect your eyes, the other curling around dani, keeping her behind you, keeping her safe from - 

the light expands, as if threatening to consume the entirety of the grounds and then, 

then it contracts into a single point where viola is, 

was. 

she’s gone. 

the grounds are dark, the moon is high in the cloudless sky. 

you are cold, freezing cold but maybe, 

just maybe you think, 

you might be free. 

“jamie,” dani gasps. she’s falling, her legs giving way beneath and you grab her. you catch her before she lands on the hard earth of the lawn “jamie,” and she’s crying as she says your name again and again. 

you wrap your arms around her, pulling her into you, into what little warmth you can provide “dani,” you say, feeling her face at the crook of your neck, her arm wrapping around you “dani, you’re safe. you’re safe.” you promise over and over again. 

you have to. 

this has to be it. this has to be the end. 

right? 

dani sobs into your shoulder and you hold her, you let her. you run a hand up and down her back memorising how it feels to have her pressed against you. how it feels to hold her, to hug her, to kiss the side of her head and soothe her in the ways that only you know how to do. after minutes, or hours, she finally says, 

“you came for me.” 

you know she’s looking at you. 

you wonder if meeting her gaze will be more than you can handle, but you have to find out. so you look, you look down gently, slowly and feel tears swell in your eyes, trailing down your cheeks “course i did.” you tell her, bringing hand to thumb away some of her own tears “i couldn’t leave you down there.” 

“you,” she exhales “even if i was dead?” 

you nod, unable to bear the thought of dragging dani’s corpse from the lake. although you had been more than prepared to do it. 

“i couldn’t leave you.” you tell her “not down there. not in that fucking lake.” 

“i remember being there.” she says “i remember walking into the lake and feeling the water around me and then, then it was peaceful. i was in my body, but i wasn’t.” 

“i was so sacred,” you admit, admit for the first time “i was so scared i would be too late.” you swallow hard, voice thick with tears “but i had to try, i had, i yelled at the lady.” and you have to almost laugh, the image of you, yelling at a lake, at a ghost, 

but it worked. 

it worked and dani is here. 

“i love you.” dani breathe, her lips against your cheek. 

“i love you back,” you promise “forever.” 

“forever.” dani agrees. 

you swallow hard and ask “can you, is she-” you have to ask, the question spilling from your lips before you can stop yourself. 

“i can’t feel her.” dani says, knowing your question before you finish it “she’s gone.” 

gone. 

gone for good. 

and you have forever. 

forever with dani. 

you cup her cheeks, kissing her slowly, reverently. you kiss her like you plan on kissing her every day for the rest of your life. 

and she kisses you back. 

dani kisses you back and there are tears on her cheeks but she’s leaning into you and all you can think is that she’s alive, 

she’s alive. 

she’s alive. 

when you part for air, foreheads pressing against each other, you look into dani’s eyes and fuck,

for the first time, 

for the first time in ten years all you see is her. no shadows. no darkness. no fear. 

only dani.

**Author's Note:**

> i loved the whole show. the ending was powerful and Sad and i support it. but also, i needed to not be sad. 
> 
> so here we are. 
> 
> thank you to nerdsbianhokie for encouraging me to write this and allowing me to idea vomit into our chat.


End file.
